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Fun Monday #45- A Christmas Tree Ornament

Katabug is hosting today's Fun Monday. She's being very seasonable with her choice of topics. I look forward to some wonderful posts today.

The rules were: In the spirit of the season I would like to see your favorite Christmas tree ornament. Not to be confused with the WHOLE tree. I want you to zoom in and show me one or a few(you know I can't choose just one!) of your favorite ornaments. If you don't decorate a tree, show me your menorah or dreidel, Kinara, or Yule Log. I want to see your favorite decoration for this holiday season.

When I was a little girl (in the 50's) my favorite Christmas Tree ornament was a blown glass raspberry. My mom had a special attachment to it. Every year she packed it away with much care and concern.

When she died 14 years ago, my eldest brother claimed it and keeps it wrapped securely with his Christmas decorations. (They were still in storage at his house in North Central California and I was unable to get a picture of it in time for this post.)

This picture was downloaded from Elizabethan Christmas. There are many more blown glass unique and exquisite Christmas ornaments on the website. The raspberry in this picture is of similar quality to Mom's, but with leaves. After speaking with siblings today, I still don't know the origin of mom's glass ornament. A sister remembers a blown glass pineapple that once dangled from the home grown fir tree that the two eldest brothers cut down in the "woods." A brother remembered a golden ornament that could have been the pineapple, or maybe an orange or an apple. It must have broken as any others were that may have one time completed the set. The raspberry is very fragile.

I don't know why I never asked mom how she came to own them. There never was much money for luxuries and dad opposed spending it on Christmas. I think he may have been one of the original Bah Hum Buggers.

In my growing years, the little glass raspberry was a special tradition in our simple and frugal holiday celebration.

(Having discovered the web site linked above, I may just decide to do some shopping. Did I mention that I already have a glass pickle ornament?)

Click here to see who else signed up with Lady K to share their ornament memories or dreams.

My parents only had these glass ornaments there was nothing else, lol ! These ornaments are very commun in Germany. Maybe your Mother got it from there through somebody of German origin. I had them too but replaced the glass once with plastic once because of the cats.

Don't ya just wish you could gather up all those old ornaments.. they only seem special to you as you get older....not when your a young mother... and the pickle I bought my daughters one years ago, because it's an old German custom to hide the pickle, and who ever finds it first gets an extra treat....my daughter linda hides it every year, and Christopher is the winner every year.....LOL judy

How beautiful! Never saw them in an ornament before. As far as my applesauce/cinnamon ornaments I make them fresh every year. You can still smell them after a year, but not as strong. As far as how long the fresh, not sure. I do know that my nieces love coming over through the holidays because they like the smell of my house from my ornaments.

What special Christmas memories! We were also pretty poor when I was a kid and my mom was always somewhere between how your mom sounds and how you've described your dad. I think it depressed her not being able to do more for us, but it was all those little things that didn't cost anything that really meant the most to me. I'd like to write a post or two about it, but my mom reads my blog. I don't know if it would make her happy or sad to read what I would say. Really it would just depend on her mood that day! So, though I'd love to write about it, I'm not sure I will.

my mother had a glass photo of me and my 1st pony(circket) that was her favorite. Mu Father still hangs it on his tree :)

This is a great post. Will your brother ever part with the rasberry?????

a pickle? how COOL! we LOVE LOVE pickles around here. I may need to check them out online too.

My favorite ornament is a stoneware horse that was fashioned after Scooter when I was about 19 yo. He was a youngster back then! Ilove seeing it over the Holidays, he and I were a horse and rider to be reckoned with in our younger days....

The best thing about putting up the tree: putting up the memories.Each ornament has a memory. Oh! Mom and Dad gave me this when I was twelve and we first moved to Texas. Or, I wonder what happened to that roommate. She gave me this one, you know.

Those glass ornaments are just gorgeous. My mother had some red glass ornaments that were sort of a teardrop shape. A set of six. The last time I remember seeing them at Christmas, we were down to three or maybe four.

Original "Bah Hum Buggers" LOLOL The glass fruit look gorgeous though, I might have to check out the link to see what other goodies they have. A nice memory for sure about the raspberry. It's probably something your mom never even thought you'd think about all these years later.

Those ornaments are beautiful, I'll have to get one!In answer to your Q on my blog I'm not sure about the other monuments but the White House issues a different ornament each year, mine is 2002 as I didn't like this years!

hello! I'm having an ornament swap if you'd like to join in on the Christmas fun! The details are at my blog. Please pass the word along to your bloggin' friends as I don't know a lot of ppl here in blog land! thanks! Merry Christmas!

Your ornaments are so beautiful but I especially love the memories that go with them. I am so enjoying catching up with you and reading through all of your memories...you just have a way with words dear heart.

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